Manchin blasts Raese's self-funding

Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin is hitting his Republican opponent for bankrolling his own campaign in a West Virginia Senate race that has become more competitive than initially forecasted.

Mining company owner and GOP nominee John Raese has put about $500,000 so far into his bid for the seat long held by the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) – money that Manchin wrote in an e-mail to supporters would fuel “negative attacks and an all-out assault on our accomplishments.”

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Manchin may be critical of Raese for self-funding his campaigns, but there’s evidence that the cash infusion is working. Manchin’s plea came just days after a poll was released showing the race has tightened.

A Rasmussen Reports survey from late August showed Manchin leading Raese by only six points, 48 percent to 42 percent. Manchin had a 16-point lead in a similar Rasmussen Reports poll taken the month before.

Raese has jumped in the polls in part thanks to television advertisements – fueled mostly by his personal funds — connecting Manchin to an unpopular President Barack Obama. While Manchin has a high 70 percent approval rating as governor, Obama has a 29 percent approval rating in the state, according to the most recent Rasmussen poll.

Raese put $2.3 million of his own money into his 2006 race against Byrd and has indicated he’s willing to spend significant funds again to win the seat. Manchin never mentions Raese by name in the e-mail, but he does invoke Byrd in his appeal for funds.

“This isn’t the first time my opponent has tried to buy an election,” Manchin wrote supporters in the e-mail. “A little over two years ago, he ran a negative campaign against our beloved U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd.”

Raese’s campaign, meanwhile, did not take too kindly to Manchin’s accusations. His campaign manager said it was insincere for the governor to criticize Raese’s ability to self-fund his campaign while West Virginia Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller, who is one of the wealthiest members of Congress, has helped Manchin fundraise.

“I find it incredibly hypocritical for any Democrat in this state who supported Jay Rockefeller, let alone one who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars at his multimillion-dollar D.C. mansion, to criticize John Raese's investment in his campaign for West Virginia's future,” said Raese campaign manger Jim Dornan.

Manchin has raised more than $1.2 million so far for his bid, including about $200,000 from a fundraiser at Rockefeller’s home in early August.